RB

One of the best courses I have taken so far. The instructor is simply the best and the material is awesome. I learnt so much and could not stop until I finished. Great job Prof. You are the best.

LG

Oct 11, 2017

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

This course was an absolute joy, and I was always in a good mood after the lectures (except maybe minimalism and Copeland, whose technique I found quite boring after all the others). Thank you!

从本节课中

The Bridge From Classical to Romantic

If you could put a soundtrack to the French Revolution, it would surely contain music from Beethoven's "Heroic" period, during which, he “brought sound to symphonies.” We’ll see how Beethoven’s incorporation of new instruments, as well as, his creation of a large orchestra, made his symphonies much louder and "sonically vivid" than those of his predecessors. The point of focus here will be a comparison of the music of Beethoven's "Heroic" period, represented by his Symphony No. 5, with that of his "Late" period, epitomized by his famous Ode to Joy. We'll also consider Beethoven the man, as revealed through primary source accounts of his life at that time. They paint a picture of a disheveled, wild-looking Beethoven, who lived among filth and clutter and was consumed by his work. The ultimate question: in what ways might his life of isolation and his hearing disability affected the nature (style) of the great music he created?As we bid aufwiedersehen to Beethoven, we move on to full-blown musical Romanticism. Romantic music, and indeed all romantic art, was known for its idealistic views on love and nature. Occurring roughly from 1820 to 1900, musical Romanticism saw an evolution of musical style as well as a change of venue (place) for musical performance. In addition to the aristocracy and their royal palaces, a strong middle class arose in Europe during this period. With the music of the ever-lyrical Franz Schubert, we'll step into the parlor of an upper-middle class home, to experience his domestic chamber music and songs. We’ll finish off the module by asking the question: How do we use musical sound to communicate? A look at program music (instrumental music that uses musical gestures to tell a story) will help us figure this out. After a quick auditory review of the workings of program music (we'll follow Vivaldi on a spring day), we'll watch Hector Berlioz go to hell. More accurately, we’ll follow the sequence of musical gestures he employs to re-create a fantastical tale of pursuit, destruction, damnation. Having learned our lesson, we’ll end with a little fun as we try to match themes extracted from various symphonies to the mental images that the composer had in mind. Do you speak the language of program music fluently? Join us and find out!

教学方

Craig Wright

Henry L & Lucy G Moses Professor of Music

脚本

[MUSIC] In our last session, we explored Beethoven's music primarily from his so called early period, up to 1803, with Beethoven working very much within the classical style. Today we'll engage Beethoven as he begins to create what we call, his heroic music, our earliest soundings of romantic music. We'll also hear a bit of music from Beethoven's late period. But why these periods or units of time with Beethoven, early, middle and late? Do we think that way in terms of other composers? Do we talk about the early period or late period of Bach or Mozart or Haydn or Wagner? No, generally not. So Beethoven stands out. He's unusual in the history of music in this regard. But what, specifically, are these periods with Beethoven? As you can see, it's very straight forward here. Early period from his early compositions, 1792 up until 1802, 1803, he writes the Eroica Symphony, as we will see, continues to 1812 culminating in the Seventh Symphony. And then, in the late period, not as much composition from Beethoven. But again, we come back to big pieces such as Missa Solemnis in The Ninth Symphony and most particularly the late piano sonatas and the late string quartets. Let's review what Beethoven sounded like 1800 to set a benchmark for what a revolutionary transformation he underwent in just three short years. Let's listen to a bit of a of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No 1. We'll watch a wonderful group of young performers, Israeli and Palestinian making music together under the organization and baton of Maestro Daniel Barenboim. This will also give us a chance to review Sonata allegro form and I'll comment as we go. [MUSIC] First theme. [MUSIC] First theme upper step. [MUSIC] Let out by the violins. [MUSIC] Then back down to the dominant of that first theme. [MUSIC] Transition. [MUSIC] Going up the scale. [MUSIC] Cadence coming up, right now. Second theme, led out by the woodwinds. [MUSIC] Now dialog between strings and woodwinds with that second theme. [MUSIC] Okay, and that gives us an idea. All this sounds very much like Mozart. And keep in mind that Beethoven was no prodigy as a composer of symphonies. He was 30 when he wrote this first symphony. Mozart died when he was 35. [LAUGH] That's how brightly his star burned. Now let's listen to an audio clip from The Finale of Beethoven's Symphony Number Three to hear just how quickly and radically Beethoven's symphonic style changed. Remember only three years later here, was Symphony Number Three, but the sound is very different. [MUSIC] So you hear the brasses. [MUSIC] You hear the slow, majestic, unfolding of the theme. [MUSIC] Well, that's the heroic sound of Beethoven that we first hear here in Symphony Number Three, subtitled now the Eroica. And it does sound very heroic, big, powerful, grand, and glorious. In our next segment, we'll explore how the symphony got its name, Eroica, and how Beethoven created this new heroic sound.